Catching Up, Season Two: It's Complicated
by princessg101
Summary: Sam, Dean, Mary, and Cas have moved on to season two and all the fresh hell (pun completely intended) that entails. And because the SPN family is what it is, let's go back down that painful memory lane with them.
1. Prologue

Catching Up, Season 2  
Prologue – Catching A Break…Not Really

 **A/N: Hey guys, the enormity of this undertaking is starting to hit me but I am as determined as ever to see it through. Although, this series may very well outlast the television show its based on. Just so we're all on the same page. I will be slowly incorporating more of the plot that I want to have for this, including the reveal of Sammy's mind buddy. Something vaguely resembling a ship shall emerge and we'll be having a few friends drop in. So until next time, ENJOY! R &R PLZ! **

Following accident and the show going dark, the room was silent. The final rollercoaster of the last episode had everyone reeling, though more Mary than anyone else. Her mind was pitching back and forth between utter self-loathing and wanting to strangle John. She pulled in shallow breaths through her teeth, trying to come up with the appropriate reaction. She didn't realise how long she'd been quiet until Sam spoke up, "Mom please say something."

Mary opened her mouth but words simply failed her. She went with, "That wasn't a vision was it?"

"No that happened," Dean confirmed.

"Right," she slapped her hands on her thighs and stood up. "Well on the bright side, I can't possibly get anymore pissed at John right? Right?"

"There's enough time to get just slightly more pissed," Sam informed her.

Mary rubbed her face with both hands, "Well Bobby was right, John does have that effect on people."

"Mom I told you, it wasn't all bad," Dean said.

"Yeah but I just thought in John's last moments, he would try more. I mean he opened up to Sam and started treating you boys with more respect. But for every step forward, it's like he did something that was an automatic two steps back. Not to mention, this," she waved a hand at the tv, "this is all on me. Anything and everything to do with that yellow-eyed son of a bitch, that's my fault."

"I wouldn't go that far Mary," Cas stated.

"I would," Mary countered. "Maybe if I had just done more, I wouldn't feel quite so crappy but face it, I did nothing. No wards, no traps, not a fricking salt line at the window. I knew that thing was coming, I just always assumed it was coming for me and it would ask me to do something for it. At least that was the way it sounded when I made the deal."

"Mom dragging yourself over hot coals isn't going to change anything," Dean said.

"Then what will?" Mary asked.

"Nothing," her eldest son replied honestly.

"Maybe we should stop for now," Sam proposed.

"Right after I watched you get plowed by demonic truck clean off the road," Mary scoffed. "Not likely Sam, let's switch to the next one. I'll do the honours." She swapped out the last DVD of season one and put in the disc for season two. She grabbed its case and headed back to the couch, falling into her spot. "Boys, just do me a favour," she requested. "You're obviously good hunters, tell me you catch a break this season."

"I'm afraid we're not that good," Dean broke it to her.

"Couldn't hurt to ask," Mary looked at the case for the next episode and let out a humourless laugh. "Case in point, season two, episode one, In My Time Of Dying."


	2. Episode 1 - In My Time of Dying

Catching Up  
Chapter 1 – In My Time of Dying

Mary didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this point. Hatred, anger, guilt, despair and a litany of emotions swirled in her, some she couldn't even name. Though she couldn't remember, she had an inkling that death had been nothing like this. But here she was, with a DVD case in hand, reading the description of this episode (pun intended) in her boys' lives. "Sam, Dean, and John are left for dead after the Demon plowed a truck into the Impala. Now the surviving family members must face a powerful adversary. Joy."

Dean hit play and they watched a recap of season one. Mary's jaw worked when she had to listen to John demand Sam kill him but that was quickly overshadowed by the accident. The show began on the wreckage as the demon who was driving the truck got out. John and TV!Dean were unconscious but TV!Sam woke up. The demon opened the door to find the Colt pointed right at him. "Nice draw there Tex," Dean drawled.

"Thanks," Sam muttered. _Scary image though, gave me the heebie-jeebies._ Sam rolled his eyes.

TV!Sam threatened to shoot the demon and it left it's vessel. The now unpossessed driver called for the EMTs and the Winchesters were air-lifted to the hospital. "It must have taken them a long time to get there if it was daylight by time they showed up," Mary observed.

"The crash happened around six in the morning. We were in the middle of no where, this was just after sunrise." Sam explained.

Back in the hospital, TV!Dean woke up and went looking for some help. He found a receptionist but she couldn't see him. Panicked, he went back to his room only to find himself hooked up to breathing support and in a coma. "That is disturbing," Cas squinted.

"I agree with you buddy but I don't remember any of this," Dean raked his hair.

"Nothing?" Mary asked.

"Dean woke up not knowing jack all what happened," Sam recalled. "I guess we're about to fill in the blanks."In the episode, TV!Sam is shown to be up and about but he cannot hear or see his brother either. The doctor comes in to say that John was awake and update him about his brother's condition. According to the doctor, TV!Dean was in critical condition and they did not know if he was going to wake up. Spirit!Dean insisted that he would be fine but still no one could hear him. John and TV!Sam discuss how to help TV!Dean, TV!Sam even echoed his brother's words about finding some hoodoo priest. _Eerie as heck!_ "Maybe I was picking it up subconsciously."

"Yeah probably," Dean said, and Sam suddenly realized he spoke too loud. Mary and Cas didn't seem to find it odd, but Dean was giving him some serious side-eye.

"You and John just can't stop tearing into each other," Mary sighed, interrupting the tension.

"Yeah well that's how we said we loved each other," Sam joked but could still feel his big brother's scrutiny. "What now?" he whispered around the lip of his beer bottle. _Just lay low. I don't get the sense he's making a big deal out of it._

Back onscreen, TV!Sam was leaving to get the Colt and asked John if he knew anything about what the demon said regarding having some kind of plan for him and children like him. John denied it but Spirit!Dean picked up on his father's deception. "What did he know?" Mary questioned almost rhetorically but the boys cringed and she snapped her jaw shut.

Meanwhile, TV!Sam insisted that Bobby keep the Impala and gave him the list of ingredients that John had given him back at the hospital except Bobby wasn't sure that it meant for protection like John said. In the hospital, Spirit!Dean railed at his father's seeming passivity at his condition until he noticed a spirit fly by. He followed it and saw a woman die, unable to help her. "What the hell?!" Cas exclaimed, surprising everyone in the room.

 _That's new._ "That's when you know Dean Winchester has had an influence on your life," Sam deadpanned. He said that just his television self exploded at John for wanting to summon the demon not ward it away. Father and son argued until Spirit!Dean lost his temper and hit a glass where it shattered on the floor.

"Dude I full on Swayze-d that mother." The Deans said together. Except Spirit!Dean started to fade and it was revealed that his body was near death with an apparition of an old woman hovering over it.

"Reaper." Sam, Cas, and Dean said together.

Spirit!Dean did what he could to get the thing away from his body, saving his life and gaining TV!Sam's attention. "Thank you psychic powers," Dean muttered. "As much as I hate the damn things, at least you knew I was around."

Mary was sorely tempted to ask what became of Sam's powers but she had a better sense that whatever this situation was, her boys didn't want to talk about it and she wasn't going to like it. "And you made friends," she added mildly at the appearance of Tessa.

"Nothing like 'hey I think we're both near death' for an icebreaker," Dean grimaced. Everyone tensed as the hospital called another code and Spirit!Dean found the apparition going after a little girl. Unfortunately, he couldn't stop it and it took her life. Meanwhile, TV!Sam had gone out and got a Ouija board so he could talk to Spirit!Dean.

"God I feel like I'm at a slumber party," the Deans said together once more.

"I kindly implore you to stop doing that," Cas said tersely.

Using the Ouija board, Spirit!Dean told his brother that there was a reaper in the hospital and both of them knew there wasn't a way to stop it. "Can't kill Death," Sam laughed in spite of himself. "That's not going to get old."

"Shaddap," Dean very maturely stuck out his tongue but the mood was brought down when they realized John had gone missing. The episode showed he was actually in the hospital's boiler room with the ingredients TV!Sam had got for him, preparing some kind of ritual.

"So much for not hunting until you knew Dean was okay," Mary groused but the boys could already sense what was coming. Onscreen, TV!Sam turned to consulting John's journal and Spirit!Dean came to realize that Tessa was the reaper all along. She was intent on convincing Spirit!Dean to go with her while back in the basement, John was performing his ritual. He finished and the yellow-eyed demon appeared only for John to say that he wanted to make a deal.

"Son of a bitch," the brothers said in unison.

"He wouldn't," Mary gasped.

They were barely aware TV!Sam's emotional plea for his brother to hang on and Tessa entreating Spirit!Dean to go with her or chance turning into a vengeful spirit. It was all background noise to the sudden revelation of what John had done, was going to do. "I always thought it was the demon but not like this." Dean whispered.

"Yellow-eyed bastard got us twice," Mary shook her head.

"Can't believe it," Sam said into his fist. _I'm sorry Sam._

The only thing that brought their attention back was the show returning John and the demon. John was willing to trade the Colt to bring back TV!Dean. They dropped more cryptic remarks about Sam and the children like him but no one cared at that point. The demon was willing to help TV!Dean but he insisted that John give him something else along with the gun. Before they could find out, though they were willing to guess, it switched to Spirit!Dean and Tessa. Spirit!Dean was just about to agree when something possessed Tessa, giving her ominous yellow eyes, and sent Spirit!Dean back to his body. "God dammit John Winchester." Mary sniffed.

They listened to the doctor declare that TV!Dean was perfectly healthy again but he couldn't remember anything that had happened. John came, though TV!Sam was annoyed that he had disappeared on them. John made peace with his younger son before sending him to get a cup of coffee. Everyone in the room knew what was happening.

"You -" Sam clenched his fist, vainly trying to will the tears away. A gentle warmth blossomed between his shoulder blades and on his arm. He turned to the side, half-expecting someone to be there but saw nothing, still he leaned into the comfort just the same.

Dean was barely holding it together, listening to John say goodbye and leave his final message. As angrily frustrated and bewildered and hurt as they were, the brothers shared a look and rose as one as John laid down the Colt to seal the deal. Mary and Cas stood as well, Mary holding onto Dean for support though she reached across to clutch Sam's hand. The warmth had moved to Sam's other hand and he squeezed both. They watched in quiet vigil as the sound of the flatline blared over them and the screen went black.

 **Time of death, 10:41 am.**


	3. Episode 2 - Everyone Loves A Clown

Catching Up  
Chapter 2 – Everybody Loves A Clown

The credits on the previous episode rolled and silence reigned between everyone in the room. No one wanted to take a break but none felt right just moving on to the next episode either. It was a guilty cross of wanting to acknowledge John but at the same time, just needing to get past it. For Sam and Dean, John's passing marked a flurry of emotions especially in hindsight. Mary, despite not knowing everything, was mired in her own sea of feelings. Suddenly a beer bottle rose and they saw it was Castiel holding it up. "To John Winchester," he said evenly. "Father, husband, and hunter. He wasn't an ideal version of any but he was always there when needed the most. To John."

Mary scrubbed her tears before reaching for her drink, "To John."

Sam's appeared in his hand and he smiled softly, "To John."

Dean was last. Holding Cas's gaze for a long moment, a silent battle of wills. Finally he nodded and added hoarsely, "To John." Those with drinks took a sip and Dean coughed. "Let's see what's next." He retrieved the DVD case, "Oh awesome, Everybody Loves a Clown. Ain't that right Sammy?"

Sam made an annoyed sound, "Don't start."

"Oh but I shall," Dean managed to smirk a bit. He read the description, "After listening to a message on John's cell phone from a woman named Ellen, Sam and Dean track her down."

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Mary's eyebrows shot up.

"No," her boys assured her. Not yet, they both added mentally.

The episode began with another recap before opening on a carnival. Sam chewed the inside of his cheek at the overabundance of clown imagery. _Really bothers you doesn't it?_ "Uh huh," he grunted. At the same time, a little girl spots a clown away from everyone else but it disappears only to reappear along the highway as she and her family are driving home.

"Oh that's bad," Mary commented.

"About to get worse," Dean tacked on as the scene moved to the family's home. The little girl is awakened by the clown outside and she lets it in before abruptly cutting to the title card.

"That's just terrifying," Mary said.

"Now I don't need to hear any wisecracks about hating them." Sam replied resolutely. Everyone sobered up the next moment as the show started on John's funeral and TV!Dean lying to TV!Sam about their father's final moments.

"Was it really that bad?" Mary ventured.

"Shittiest case of last words ever." Dean declared.

The episode cut to a week later with TV!Dean working on the Impala. "You managed to get it from twisted scrap metal to that in a week," Mary awed.

"He pretty much worked on it eighteen hours a day, no exaggeration," Sam told her. "That's why I'd had enough of his shit after only a week."

"But hey, when I'm right, I'm right. We didn't have any options. Maybe if you had led in with the cellphone bit…"

"Whatever man, tell you one thing though. I do NOT miss that van." Sam nodded to the clunker Bobby had lent them to go see Ellen. "I do however miss the Roadhouse."

"You and me both brother," Dean bobbed his head. They watched as their television selves entered the bar for the first time and met Jo, Ellen, and Ash. It was equals parts wonderful and painful to see them again. Seeing John had been tough but the Roadhouse crew was different. Onscreen, Ash was revealed as a hidden genius who agreed to help put together John's research and TV!Sam picked up the clown case at the same time TV!Dean backed off from hitting on Jo.

"A rarity in and of itself," Cas commented.

"You're funny hot wings," Dean griped. Meanwhile, the brothers discuss the case and the mysterious disappearing clown. TV!Dean is wary of TV!Sam's behaviour and his sudden desire to honor John but goes with it. "Funny part is, dad would have never believed you of all people had said stuff like that."

"If he was around to believe it or not, I wouldn't need to say it." Sam countered. They watched the clown-monster choose another target and go after the family. TV!Sam and TV!Dean arrived at the carnival as the police were investigating and confirmed another attack. _Fingered a clown? Dude do you think before you speak?_ "Shouldn't you be asking Dean that?" Indeed, TV!Dean was finding himself in a tough spot with the carnival workers after a couple slips of tongue – his brother doing nothing to help him.

"Bitch."

"Jerk." Thankfully, a man named J. Cooper who ran the fair apparently rescued them. The TV!Winchesters pretended to be fair workers but couldn't keep up the ruse. Cooper was reluctant to take them on, insisting that they live 'regular' but surprisingly TV!Sam jumped in, saying they didn't want to go to school or live normal lives. TV!Dean is disbelieving of his brother's change of heart but doesn't comment.

"Winchester coping at it's finest I suppose," Mary exhaled.

"You suppose correctly," Cas confirmed.

In the end, the TV!Winchesters secured jobs as maintenance and TV!Sam thought he found a lead in the funhouse. TV!Dean nearly got caught by the blind knife thrower but managed to feed him some story about him and TV!Sam writing a book. The brothers overheard another child point out a clown that couldn't be seen and decided to follow the family. Sure enough, the clown arrived and the TV!Winchesters ambushed it. It was solid enough to be hit with the rounds that TV!Dean fired at it but turned completely invisible just as the child's parents showed up. TV!Sam and TV!Dean were forced to abandon the van and somehow they ended up fighting over how to handle their father's death. "That happens frequently," Cas did his best approximation of a long-suffering sigh. "They tend to hold things in until it bursts out of them in a loud and often dramatic fashion."

"Not going to lie, they had to get it from somewhere Cas and it wasn't all John," Mary informed him. "My father and I were the exact same way."

Back in the show, Ellen thinks they are dealing with a rakshasa, a demon that lives in squalor and feeds every few decades. The only way to kill it is with a brass knife so TV!Dean goes to the knife thrower while TV!Sam checks Cooper to see if he might be the demon. Unfortunately, the knife-thrower was the demon and gave chase. "Did it have to do that thing with it's face?" Mary shivered.

"Well that's all the nightmare fuel I need," Sam cringed as the tv-him and TV!Dean led the rakshasa into the funhouse where they were able to use the steam and brass pipes from the organ to finish it off.

"That was excellent tactics," Cas complimented them.

"It was pretty good," Dean said proudly. The TV!Winchesters returned to the Roadhouse to celebrate. Jo and TV!Dean agree that then wasn't the right time for anything and Ash revealed that he had pulled together John's research into a computer program that would let them know if the demon ever showed up again. Back at Bobby's, TV!Sam admits that he isn't alright, that he isn't coping with John's death but he's certain neither is TV!Dean. He leaves his big brother to work on the Impala and TV!Dean finally breaks down, taking a crowbar to the Impala's trunk.

"Boys," Mary pulled them both in for a hug. "I'm so sorry."

"Us too," they broke off.

"I have to admit, I am a little jealous," Mary attempted a bit of levity. "You guys hunt way more interesting things than I ever did. I'd only ever heard of the rakshasa."

"Actually," a gravelly voice said from behind. Everyone jumped and spun around to find Crowley leaning on the doorway, scotch in hand. "It's pronounced _rakh-shas_ , soft second syllable and the 'a' at the end is silent." He tilted his glass towards, "Hello boys."


	4. Trouble Brewing

Catching Up  
Chapter 3 – Trouble Brewing

"What are you doing here Crowley?" Dean demanded, shutting off the television. "Ever heard of knocking?"

"I came by with a request and noticed you were playing your greatest hits. Which, by the way, how did you pull that off? I doubt Heaven has the interest or desire and I know Hell doesn't have the cinematic flair."

"Alternate reality," Sam answered shortly. "Now what do you want _Fergus_?"

"Wait this is Crowley?" Mary pointed at the man in the black.

"And you must be the one and only Mrs. Winchester," Crowley half-bowed. "A pleasure it is. I can see where your sons get their beguiling looks from."

"Oh," Mary said slightly taken aback. "I guess when the boys told me you were the 'King of Hell' I was expecting more smoke and pitchforks. Maybe a couple of horns and a tail."

"Please," Crowley scoffed. "I believe I have brought Hell to better standards than that. At any rate, I would require at least two dinners before I bring out the horns and tail though I may be persuaded…" Dean growled dangerously and he moved on, "Anyway I came to see if I can pull you away from your home movies to handle a certain Satan."

"What happened now?" Dean groaned.

"More of the same really. I've been tailing the Morning Star across the continent. At first he had trouble just finding a vessel after leaving Castiel but I think he's struck gold this time. He jumped into some musician named Vince Vincente."

"The rockstar?" Sam gasped.

"The douchebag," Dean corrected him. "Guy used to roll with purple hair down to his butt and a spiked codpiece.

"It was the 80's," Sam said on reflex earning several stares.

"WHAT?!" his brother spat horrified.

 _That's what you're into?_ Sam ignored both of them. "I thought he made peace with God, what more is there?"

"I'm not the devil's therapist," Crowley growled. "All I know is that he's managing to hold onto this one and now he's got mother who can seal the deal."

"Rowena sided with him?"

"Not exactly," Crowley actually appeared sheepish, or sheepish by his standard. "I may have left her alone with him and he took her captive."

"You left your mother at the mercy of Lucifer," Castiel surmised. "And now you're worried about mommy."

"She is the only one with enough juice on this planet to stick Lucifer back in his cage," Crowley snapped. "If something happens to her, every person standing here may as well starting packing for whichever afterlife they're destined to be sent to."

There was silence for a beat.

"I'll go with you," Castiel said at last.

"What?!" Dean repeated as if all semblance of sanity had faded from the universe.

"It's my fault Lucifer got out," Cas said plainly. "I brought him from the cage, I should see to it that he returns. Besides, this is probably the weakest we may able to catch Lucifer before Rowena can make the vessel permanent." It was obvious they weren't going to convince him otherwise.

"Be careful," Mary cautioned.

"I will," Cas patted her shoulder and nodded to the boys before heading off with the King of Hell.

They heard Crowley say on the way out, "Perhaps we can switch to plaid, you could consider growing your hair -" The door slammed shut.

"One's an angel and one's a demon," Dean shrugged.

"And apparently they solve crimes," Mary finished for him. "I don't like the idea of watching the show without Cas though. It feels like a whole family thing."

"Yeah," Dean agreed. "Maybe we should stretch our legs, if they're hunting, why can't we?"

 _I don't know Sam._ "I don't know," Sam grimaced. "I feel safer here, especially since the Men of Letters can't get into the Bunker anymore and we have homefield advantage."

"Listen man, I know coming back here, finding Lady Toni, getting shot and flown half-way across the world has been crazy but we can't neglect who we are." Dean said reasonably. "We don't have to take on anything big, a regular old salt and burn would be just fine."

"Actually I think I found a case," Mary admitted. "Minnesota. A couple was found dead frostbitten to death. I don't sleep very much, I never feel tired enough." She tacked on by way of explanation.

 _Not one of ours_ "That doesn't sound like the Men of Letters but are you sure about this? These people are highly skilled and dangerous."

"Can't be that bad if they didn't have the sense to properly ward and bound someone they kidnapped," Dean reminded him.

 _Shit._ "My thoughts exactly," Sam concurred on both levels. "But what if they just underestimated us? You should have heard Lady Toni, they were definitely cocky. I'm sure they won't the same mistake twice." _Well-played._

"And neither will we," Mary insisted. "We'll be together. No one goes anywhere alone and we cover our tracks. Cash only, no paper trails."

"See mom's got the right idea." Dean clapped his hands together, "So, family hunting trip it is. Let's up saddle up and head out. Minnesota awaits."

Dean and Mary left and Sam braced the wall. Paranoid his family might come back, he put his cellphone to his ear. "I tried." _I know._ "So what now?" _Go with your family, watch each other's back and above all else, if you see a black Norton Commando motorcycle get the hell out of dodge._ Sam's brow furrowed, "What aren't you telling me?" _Truth? A lot. But none of it I can get into right now. Just go get ready for your case, I promise I will clue you in soon._ Sam sighed, "Fine I trust you." _Be safe Sammy._ "Thanks." He pocketed his phone and went to his room to pack…unaware of the pair of green eyes watching him from around the corner.

 **A/N: Hey guys, OH NO DEAN SUSPECTS SOMETHING IS UP! Sorry it took me so horrifically long to put out these chapters. Life be-eth the biggest of all bitches. Writing for you is what makes my day. Until next time, ENJOY! R &R PLZ! **


	5. Regroup

Catching Up  
Chapter 4 – Regroup

All in all, not one of the Winchesters' better cases. Sam was drained, Mary was withdrawn, and Dean had been on edge the entire time but especially after they had wrapped everything up. The whole drive back from Minnesota was dominated by silence and tension. Things only got worse – for Sam – when they finally reached the Bunker. Mary quietly excused herself to go lie down and Dean grabbed his little brother by the arm none too gently. "We are going to talk." His tone barred any argument as he unceremoniously dragged him to one of the rooms, well away from Mary's.

"Dean we should really check on mom," Sam tried weakly.

"Later." Dean slammed the door shut. "What the hell is going on Sam?"

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked honestly.

"Ever since London you've been weird," Dean began to pace. "Muttering to yourself and being shady. At first, I told myself that you were trying to get over the kidnapping, that you were scared of the Men of Letters coming back. But I heard you talking to someone on the phone and during the hunt -"

Sam inhaled sharply, he knew what Dean saw.

" _Dean…she's possessed." he whispered. Mary's eyes were leaking black as she faced them. Dean took a run at her but she threw him back. Then she grabbed Sam by the neck and held him up against the wall. His airway constricted under her hand, he kicked feebly. "Mom, fight this."_

" _Mom," Dean pled._

 _As Sam attempted to pry her fingers from his throat, his hands suddenly felt stronger, surer and he himself was stunned to see and feel his mother's grip slacken, giving him enough room to headbutt her back. Suddenly the gun slid across the ground to near his feet and he didn't hesitate to pick it up and point it at Mary. "Dean get to the basement! Burn the bones!" Dean was stock still, the blood drained from his face. "Dean, don't worry I got it. Just go! GO!" At last Dean moved, his gaze never leaving them._

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sam shook his head.

"Sam I'm not stupid," Dean said lowly. "Even if there was a way for you to power out of that death grip, I saw that gun move. Now tell me the truth. What is going on?"

 _Dammit I'm sorry. Just keep saying the gun was there. Jedi mind trick style._ "I don't know how I got out of the chokehold, I just did. But I swear the gun was there the whole time."

"I know what I saw," Dean insisted. "Are you back on demon blood?"

"WHAT?! NO!" Sam yelped. "Dean I didn't do anything back there, you have to believe me. When would I have gotten demon blood?"

"With the Men of Letters," Dean threw out. "You never did say what they did to you. Maybe they gave a shot of the stuff just to mess with you. That's why you don't want to run into them again, why you've been so on edge."

"They didn't give me demon blood," Sam assured him.

Dean clearly didn't believe him but decided to move on. "Alright then, who were you on the phone with?"

Sam fell back against the wall. There was literally no way he could get out of this one and judging by the lack of disembodied advice, the other one knew it too. "I can't tell you everything but I will tell you the truth."

Dean crossed his arms, "I'm waiting."

"When I was taken by the Men of Letters, I wasn't just left sitting there. Someone helped me get out."

"Wha – are you serious?" Dean gaped.

"Yes. They actually had me locked down every way to Sunday; wards, chains, bolts, you name it."

"So who sprung you?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?" Dean demanded.

"I know you like I know myself Dean. You're going to want them out of there or doing stuff for us and we can't, we just can't."

"We know them don't we? Someone we know is a Man of Letters."

"Technically speaking, they're undercover in the MOL," Sam corrected him. "They needed…some stuff from the Brits and have been hiding out there for a while."

"And if their cover gets blown -"

"They die." Sam finished for him. "I've been in contact with them sporadically. Keeping an eye out for us but that's literally the limit of what we can ask for."

Dean frowned, "You're really worried about them."

"Truth?" Sam slid down the wall to sit on the ground. "Terrified. Part of me wants to go back to London and get them out of there." _Sam…_

Before anything else was said, they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Mary peeked in, "Boys? Cas and Crowley are back. Rowena is with them." She spotted Sam on the ground. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah mom," Sam said quickly, getting up. "Let's go figure out the situation with Lucifer."

*CU*

"The bottom of the ocean?" Dean and Sam repeated together. _Oof he is gonna be PISSED when he gets out_

"If I could have sent him back to the cage, believe me I would have," Rowena rolled her eyes.

"So we're in the clear right?" Mary surmised. "If he's stuck at the bottom of the ocean in a degraded vessel, he's done."

"He's still the most powerful angel in all the Host," Cas pointed out. "I wouldn't count on this holding him for long."

"He always finds a way," Dean took a swig of beer. "Maybe we should have gone through with the Apocalypse."

"Which one?" Sam, Cas, Crowley AND Rowena chorused.

"I think Supreme Ruler Castiel had its merits," Dean replied honestly.

"I'm flattered," Cas returned dryly.

"Well while we're waiting for Satan to rise up once more, how about we continue with the show?" Mary proposed. "I want to see Supreme Ruler Castiel for myself. I feel kind of left out of these apocalyptic conversations."

"Won't last for long," Dean smirked. "According to Law of the Winchester Universe, you're due for one yourself."

"Well technically since I gave birth to the two of you, you could consider the mother of all the apocalypses." Mary paused. "I get the sense that there was a little too much truth in that."

"Oh Mrs. Winchester you have no idea," Crowley rasped.

"You going to stick around?" Dean asked.

"Why not," Crowley shrugged. "I haven't anything better to do."

"Yeah it's not like you're in charge of Hell or anything," Sam scoffed.

"A Hell that knows Lucifer is still around and recalls him treating me like a dog," Crowley rejoined curtly. "I'd rather not be anywhere near that place. Mother?"

"I think it'd be rather nice," Rowena acquiesced.

"Guess that settles it," Mary pronounced.

 **A/N: Hey guys, I hope everyone had a great holiday season. Happy 2018 to you all. Until next time, ENJOY! R &R PLZ!**


	6. Episode 3 - Bloodlust

Catching Up  
Chapter 5 – Bloodlust

Rowena and Crowley opted to conjure their own seating while the rest reclaimed their spots in the den. Stomaching the news that Lucifer now resided at the bottom of the ocean was among the least of their worries believe it or not. Dean was still highly concerned about Sam and whoever he was talking to and Mary still had a hard time digesting everything else along with the current situation. Sam was now on pins and needles in case Dean struck again and Cas felt like a failure for having lost Lucifer. Hoping to get away from it all Sam picked up the DVD case, "This episode is called Bloodlust, Sam and Dean encounter Gordon, a fellow demon hunter who has been systematically killing vampires in a small town."

"Aw no, not this asswipe," Dean groaned.

"Don't spoil it for the rest of us squirrel," Crowley chided. The recap played and the Winchester brothers didn't know whether they should be grateful to be past this whole ordeal or longing for simpler times. Granted they knew things were about to become pretty crappy as the show opened on a woman being chased through the woods and swiftly beheaded.

"Explain to me why your lives are being portrayed like low-budget campy horror films?" Crowley turned to the brothers.

Sam spoke over the introduction of the boys back in the Impala. "Well we are currently in a room consisting of the former King of Hell, his 300 year-old witch mother, our ex-angel best friend watching a parallel dimension's television adaptation of our lives in an effort to catch up our mother who was brought back from the dead by God's sister. Not to mention, all of this while we wait for Lucifer himself to rise from the bottom of the Pacific. Got any directorial suggestions?"

"As long as I get the good angles compared to you gargantuan brutes. My right side is my best side."

"So Dean is happy now?" Cas redirected their attention to the show.

"Be afraid, be very afraid," Sam snorted. The TV!Winchester interview the Sheriff with little success before heading to morgue to examine the remains. The pair bicker as they look over the head and discover their victim was a vampire.

"Not to be offensive," Mary ventured. "But isn't this a good thing?"

"Oh bless," Rowena crooned. "She still believes in good and bad."

"That'll change after this," Dean held his mother's hand. "Hang on to that while you've got it mom."

Meanwhile TV!Sam and TV!Dean head to a local bar and see a rather familiar face. "Hang on!" Dean paused it. "Benny?!"

"But that can't be him," Sam reasoned. "He was in Purgatory. Besides, wasn't this guy called Eli or something like that? He's a vamp." He added at his mother's questioning gaze.

"Perhaps a descendent, it's not unheard for certain bloodlines to be marked out," Crowley said idly. "Hell has a long memory."

Onscreen, TV!Sam and TV!Dean gather some information while a man from the bar follows them. "That's Gordon," Dean announced.

"Can I garrote him now?" Sam hissed. _Whoa Sammy!_ Gordon tries to find the TV!Winchesters in an alleyway but they get the jump on him. He assures them he is not a vampire and they realize they're all hunters but declines any help taking on the nest. The scene jumps to a service worker at the docks being ambushed by Gordon. They fight and Gordon is nearly killed but the brothers intervene and finish the vamp off.

"That was a stupid call," Dean shook his head.

"I was the one who pulled his sorry ass out from under that saw," Sam scowled. "Should have left him there." _Okay seriously, this isn't like you._ Rather than respond, Sam opened up his mind, allowing the memories of Gordon and his violence to filter back in. _Sam…_

The three hunters return to the bar and celebrate their successful hunt but TV!Sam is off and decides to leave. He returns to the motel while TV!Dean and Gordon bond over their love of hunting. "Sixteen years old," Mary frowned. "You should have been worried about pimples and prom dates."

"With all due respect, Mrs. Winchester I don't think Dean would have done well with a cummerbund." Crowley smirked.

"Figure that out while you were planning your wedding Fergus," Rowena countered and Cas and Sam snorted.

Gordon talks about the vampire attacking him and his sister and the conversation turns to John. "You opened up to Gordon?!" Sam made a face.

"Not one of my prouder moments."

"Um no," Mary cut into Gordon's not-so-sage advice to her son. "Hunting is not an emotional outlet. Bottling your pain and using against creatures will make you a ruthless hunter not a strong one. No one should _need_ to kill anything to handle their grief and pain."

Meanwhile, TV!Sam puts in a call to Ellen to ask about Gordon. At first nonchalant, Ellen is quick to insist that the boys get away from Gordon, calling him dangerous to everyone and everything around him. Whilst back at the bar, Gordon calls the hunting life perfectly black and white. He even makes a connection between him and TV!Dean having a visible effect on the elder Winchester. "Get the hell away from my son," Mary growled.

"We may need to restrain her from the TV," Sam said lightly.

"That's not true," Cas added. "The world has never operated on absolutes. Humanity only chooses to look for them where they want to see it."

The show jumped back to TV!Sam where he is jumped at the motel and taken to a farmhouse. The bartender Eli is there when he awakens and another vampire named Lenore. She explains that their nest had been living off of cow's blood but were still being hunted.

"Vegetarian vampires," Mary blinked. "So wait…the hunter is the bad guy and the vampires are the good guys?"

"The devil is in the details sweetie," Rowena smiled beatifically. "What side of the line you're on and what you're doing while you're there."

In the show, TV!Sam doesn't believe that Lenore and her nest are good so as a sign of good faith, she releases him without a scratch. He returns to the motel to find TV!Dean and Gordon going over a map of the town. TV!Sam tells his brother everything, unaware that Gordon is listening, and insists that they leave the vampires alone. However TV!Dean remains stubborn causing the brothers to fight.

"Do you two ever stop?" Rowena rolled her eyes.

"No." Cas said simply.

TV!Dean makes to go after the vampires only to discover Gordon gone and the keys to the Impala missing. They have no choice but to hotwire Baby and TV!Sam is able to retrace the route back to the farmhouse. Lenore and Eli are packing up to leave, she sends Eli away while all the hunters close in. Gordon gets to Lenore first and poisons her with dead man's blood. Mary made a disgusted noise, "Who's the monster here?"

"Exactly," Rowena replied.

They watched with contempt and disgust as Gordon tortured Lenore for information even TV!Sam and TV!Dean try to get him to stop. "He's so calm," Dean grimaced. "I forgot how calm he was about it."

Then Gordon revealed the truth about his sister being turned and killing her himself. He also knew that Lenore's nest wasn't hurting anyone and didn't care. To prove it, he sliced Sam's arm and let the blood drip onto Lenore's face. For moment it looked like vampire would drink but she resisted. "Incredible," Cas murmured. "To war with their basic nature like that."

"She was one of the good ones," Sam commented.

Meanwhile, TV!Dean lets his brother take Lenore away and faces on Gordon. They fight and TV!Dean overpowers the other hunter, tying him down to a chair until sunrise. TV!Sam comes back to report that all the vampires escaped safely and TV!Dean promises to call and have someone let Gordon out in a couple of days. "I really don't want to say it," Dean bit his tongue.

"Just do it, I've done it already." Sam invited.

"I wish we had ganked that son of a bitch," Dean admitted.

Mary just looked between them and sighed, "Well I already hate Gordon, I look forward to despising him even more."

"Yeah that won't take long," Dean assured her as his television self gets one last punch to Gordon's face before leaving. Outside, TV!Dean offers to let his brother punch him but TV!Sam takes a rain check.

"Too late to cash in that one?" Sam asked mildly.

"Dude you've already passed up so many chances to clock me," Dean chuckled.

In the show, the brothers discuss the possibility of ever having killed something that might not have deserved it. TV!Sam points out that he didn't kill Lenore but TV!Dean insists that he wanted to and didn't only because 'Sam was a pain in his ass' to which TV!Sam promises to stick around to be just that.

"Man you really know how to keep your word," Dean said as the credits rolled.

"Shut up jerk," Sam scoffed, reaching for the DVD case.

"Bitch."

 _You feeling any better?_ "A little now that we won't see him for a bit," Sam whispered. In a louder voice he called, "Next episode?"


	7. Episode 4 - Children Shouldn't Play

Catching Up  
Chapter 6 – Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things

"May I?" Rowena offered.

"By all means." Sam gave her the case and remote.

"So our next chapter in this long sensational tale of our heroes is entitled 'Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things'."

"Funny that is the exact opposite of what you taught me mother," Crowley commented.

"And you rose to become the King of Hell whereas other mothers have tax accountants for sons," the witch said primly.

"You actually complimented me?" Crowley made a face. "I don't like it."

"Anyway," Rowena continued. "Dean and Sam investigate the murder of a college student who has come back from the dead seeking revenge on those who mistreated her. See Fergus, why couldn't bring a lovely girl like that home?

"What is this, an episode of the Addams family?" Dean scoffed. "Just press start Rowena."

The witch played the episode but with a groan, fast-forwarded through the recap. "Enough melodrama." Only for the show to open on an upset young woman apparently nursing broken heart. "This isn't the Addams family, it's the Gilmore Girls."

Nothing wrong with that show, Sam thought mutinously. _Team Dean?_ "It's the only correct answer." _Atta boy_ He couldn't help but smirk. Meanwhile, the girl took off in her car where she got into an argument with her boyfriend on the phone, leading to her crashing and dying.

The show jumped to TV!Sam and TV!Dean heading to Mary's grave. TV!Dean thinks it's ridiculous since there was no body but goes along anyway despite TV!Sam saying he would go alone. "My brother Marcus," Mary sniffed. "He must have been the one, I tried looking him up but he died not long after I did." Sam and Dean had a feeling they knew what happened but stayed silent.

"You all need a really good therapist," Crowley sipped his drink.

"You're working this out now?" Cas raised a brow.

"Whose side are you on?" Dean narrowed his eyes.

"I'm sorry Dean. My understanding of humanity is far from perfect but there have been several occasions where I felt it necessary to have you seek a professional in human problems."

"I could always go to one of those motivational seminars – oh wait…"

"That was cruel Dean," Sam chastised as his TV!self buried their father's dog tags near Mary's grave.

"Thank you for that Sam," Mary said gratefully. "I just hate that all that was left of us was rock and some tags." Meanwhile, TV!Dean spotted a dead tree in the graveyard near a perfectly circular patch of dead grass. It's the girl's grave and he believes he's found a case in spite of Sam's misgivings.

The brothers go to see the girl, Angela's, father who was a professor at the university. They try to interview him but there is tension between the TV!Winchesters which begins to rear its head at the motel. TV!Sam think his brother is only pursuing this case to avoid his feelings and TV!Dean storms out. "Good lord, is there an off switch to your melodrama?" Rowena rubbed her temple.

At the same time, Angela's boyfriend is watching a tape of her, unnoticing of a plant that withers on spot. He does catch a reflection that looks like Angela in the television and turns around but the scene cuts, showing only a blood spatter across the TV screen before going black. "Good on you lass," Rowena smirked.

When the show came on again, TV!Dean was breaking into Angela's dorm when he runs into her roommate. He managed to convince her that he's Angela's cousin and she tells him that Angela was a great person with no enemies and that her boyfriend Matt 'committed suicide' the night before out of grief. She also mentioned that Matt claimed to keep seeing Angela everywhere. "I hate it when he's right," Sam groused. "Bigger pain in the ass than usual."

"And apparently a cock blocker too," Crowley nodded to the show where TV!Sam gets interrupted watching Casa Erotica.

 _I didn't know you were a fan._ "I don't have to tell you everything." _But you will._

In the show, the TV!Winchesters pose as grief counsellors and speak to Angela's best friend Neil who tells the boys that Matt probably killed himself out of guilt not grief, for cheating on Angela and being the reason she was so distraught in the car. TV!Dean decides to burn the bones even though these ones would have more than a little flesh still left on them. "It troubles me as your mother that you had to stop and think about the question of being high," Mary said mildly.

"I'm not the son you need to worry about in that regard," Dean chuckled.

"Oh for Chuck sake, it was one time! In college!" _Oh the stories you shall tell me._ Nevertheless, the TV!Winchesters dig up the grave and open the casket only to find it empty.

At the same time, Neil goes to his basement where he is keeping Angela who greets him with a deep kiss. "He's not just playing with a dead thing," Crowley shook his head. "He's making the dead thing play with him."

"I'd really prefer not to consider it," Mary made a face. "Although I am curious how he resurrected her." The TV!Winchester spot symbols in carved into the casket that make them suspect Angela's father.

"Reanimated darling, not resurrected," Rowena corrected over TV!Dean confrontation with the professor. "A common misconception but once a soul is truly claimed by Death, very few forces can reverse it. However as long as the brain and all those science-y bits are still functional you can still make the body work again but with the soul missing. It would be a poor facsimile of the person at best, downright demonic at worst. Of course nothing is more hellish than listening to this belly-aching." she grumbled as once again the TV!Winchesters argued over their grief.

Elsewhere, Neil is beginning to have suspicions about Angela but she assures him that she did nothing wrong. Unfortunately for the TV!Winchesters, the lore is very confused about how to kill the undead with only the use of silver as a common thread. Still they go to Neil's house but the place is empty. _We've come to hug?_ "Dean's opening lines have needed a bit of work." _Not even MacGyver can fix that shit._ Sam coughed to hid his laugh.

The TV!Winchesters discovers Angela's basement and her escape route. They determine that she would likely go after whoever Matt cheated on her with and TV!Dean had a feeling it was her roommate. True enough, Angela attacked her but she is saved by TV!Sam and TV!Dean although the bullets prove ultimately ineffectual. The brothers decide nailing Angela back into her grave was their best optionand for that, they need Neil. They confront him at his office and TV!Dean says -

 **When someone's gone, they should stay gone**

Every single person in the room squirms uneasily. "Dean please tell me you're done with these cases of last words." Sam groaned.

"You know I'm not," Dean scoffed.

Sure enough, TV!Dean notices dead plants and deduces Angela is in the room but Neil refuses to come with them. The elder Winchester concocts a fake ritual that would supposedly kill Angela and quietly warns Neil not to anger her. When the brothers are gone, Angela comes out of her hiding spot and pleads with Neil for them to go to the cemetery to stop the ritual. However, when Neil goes to get the car, Angela suspects him of trying to leave her and snaps his neck. "I could have used a few like her in Hell," Crowley approved. "Ruthless, quick, and efficient, good demonic help is so hard to come by."

"All subordinates are reflections of their leader," Cas said.

"I wonder what that should say about Michael," the demon shot back.

"I don't follow Michael, haven't in years, the moment I chose to rebel I was no longer his subordinate or anyone's," Cas growled.

 _He wasn't supposed to be a subordinate in the first place, they're brothers._ "You're family though, I mean I guess I've never thought about it but why is Heaven so militarized when you call each other brother and sister? You call God father."

Cas frowned, "I do not recall much but Heaven under Michael was vastly different from that of our Father's."

 _Understatement._ "I'm sorry." With nothing else to say, they continued to watch the show. Angela went after TV!Sam who lured her to the grave and TV!Dean pinned her down with a silver stake. Once they left, TV!Dean finally came clean to his brother. He felt that it was no coincidence that John died right after his miraculous recovery. Confused, he was certain that it was his fault that John was dead. More than that, he regretted coming back, feeling he should have stayed dead. The show ended softly and the room remained silent.

"It was not your fault," Mary said firmly. "John would never blame you and neither do I."

"Hey," Sam bravely tried lightening the mood. "At least you got over the whole unnatural part of coming back."

"Yeah," Dean said hollowly. "I'll be right back." He got up and left, all but running to the hall where a voice from behind stopped him.

"Dean."


	8. Ask Me

Catching Up  
Chapter 7 – Ask Me

Castiel stood there. Hands in his trench coat, still as a sentinel. "Where are you going?"

"I just need some air man," Dean tried to assure him. "Hearing all that again, it just -"

"Don't you lie to me Dean Winchester, you were horrible at it then and you're still horrible at it now," Cas stalked towards him. "Do you still feel that way? That you should not have been saved? That coming back was unnatural? Do you still think that?"

"Look -"

"Do – you – still – feel – that – way?"

Dean swallowed thickly, "Yeah I do."

"I suppose Michael could have used John as a vessel. Adam might still be around, of course his mother would be dead and his father as good as. Then John and Sam would do battle, one would kill the other. One dead and the survivor locked inside a flesh prison. Or perhaps we would have meet sooner, sent to save you from perdition and all. Start the apocalypse that much sooner."

"Okay cut the crap," Dean snapped. "I get it. The bigger picture says what happened was least of the evils. I come back, Sammy and I do our thing, end of the world crisis averted. That doesn't change the fact that my father gave up his life for me and what did it really get him in the end? Nothing!"

Cas looked outraged. "You can't honestly believe that merely your continued existence wasn't worth John's life?"

Dean remained silent and Cas's jaw tightened, "How dare you?!"

"Excuse me?" Dean went on the defensive.

"How dare you disgrace your father's sacrifice?" Cas demanded. "Do you truly deem it unnatural for a man to love his son so much that he would risk the world for him? Is it so incomprehensible to you that a parent would lay their life down for their child?"

"I still died anyway didn't I?" Dean flung his arms in the air.

"Of course we are all fated to die one way or another but on that day, Dean Winchester, there was another way and your father took it." Cas looked away. "The burden of guilt will never diminish but the underlying love should never be forgotten."

Dean looked at the angel shrewdly, "Personal experience there buddy?"

Cas took a breath, "Yes well, did I not scour this Earth, calling for my father? And when all hope was lost, he saved me and gave me new life. He had taken himself away from the angels but for one blistering moment, I felt his warmth, his love, he cared enough to reveal himself so that I may continue."

Dean crossed his arms, "Are you sure that's it?"

"Of course," Cas sighed. "Angels are no longer a family, all we have is our father."

"No longer? You mean you were actually family once? What was Heaven like before Michael took over?"

"I don't recall much, I was merely a fledgling at the time." Cas stared into the distance as if he could see through time. He hummed a small tune and frowned, "I don't even remember the words anymore."

"What was that?" Dean asked.

"A song I heard when I was young when the angels used to sing together. Then Michael came into power…" Cas shrugged. "Some of the older ones would sing in their garrisons but it wasn't like before and eventually the songs faded away."

"I'm sorry man," Dean apologized.

"No need to apologize, I lost my family long ago," Castiel pinned him with a look. "And you were the one who gave me another chance. That is what you give to this world Dean, a chance, don't lose sight of that. John made sure you had one and I believe you've done his sacrifice great justice by giving that to everyone several times over. Anytime you think that you're not worth the life you live, ask me, I'll tell you how completely natural it is that you walk this Earth."

"Thanks Cas." The pair hugged. "I'm glad we've got each other."

"As am I."

*CU*

Elsewhere, Sam had excused himself to go to the restroom, carefully dodging Dean and Cas's encounter. He detoured to the kitchen and turned the water on just in case someone heard him speak. "Hey anything new?"

 _Nope. Just a whole lot of butthurt Brits_

"Works for me. You'd tell me if you were in trouble right?"

 _I'm fine for now, the healing process is a bitch. Our little escapade didn't do me any favours._

"You shouldn't have done all of that."

 _All of what? Making sure you survived? Now then, what's this about college and drugs?_

Sam rolled his eyes, "I smoked a joint once. A friend of mine was having a party, he gave me one and told that it would loosen me up."

 _How loose did you get?_

"I ate an entire bag of chips and played with pieces of lint off his couch."

 _Jeez even stoned you're practically a choir boy._

"Shut up," Sam snorted. "When do you think you'll be good enough to make the flight over?"

 _Sam…_

"You heard me, I hate every second you're stuck with those people. I'm getting you out of there ASAP, whatever it takes to get it done."

 _Sam I know we have a ton of stuff to talk about and we will, I promise. I will come back but we have to do this carefully. This is a double-edged sword but if we play our cards right, both sides will cut in our favour._

"Just be careful. This could go sour at any moment."

 _I know that. For now I need you to do something for me._

"What's that?"

 _Wait for me Sam. It seems cruel to ask but I'm on my way back_

"I am waiting. But all I keep thinking is you're going to get caught and I won't be able to give you your answer."

 _Don't tell me now. I want to hear it in person even if it's the last thing I do._

"It better not be," Sam warned.

 _I'll be at your doorstep with bells on, don't worry._

"Now that you can't ask of me," Sam breathed as he shut off the water.

 **A/N: Hello all, so I've been reworking the plot of this story and I will also be padding out angel society and culture. It's something I don't think gets nearly enough attention. Until next time, R &R PLZ! **


	9. Episode 5 - Simon Said

Catching Up  
Chapter 8 – Simon Said

 **A/N: Hey guys, I know it's been way too long. I was going to hold off until the other chapters for this round finished but I really just wanted to update. I am continuing with my decision to pad angel society and figured we could examine Hell too. Hope you like it. Stay tuned for the yearly massive Christmas upload. ENJOY! R &R PLZ! **

When the boys returned, Mary already had the next episode queued up and waiting for them. "What's next on our greatest hits?" Sam asked offhandedly.

"Simon said," Mary replied. "Sam and Dean meet Andy, a slacker who has psychic powers of persuasion that uses to gain favours from people."

"You know it's rather fascinating," Crowley mused. "Seeing Azazel's experiments muck about. That prick was on the biggest pains in the arse you could ever imagine. Talked about himself like he was God. Always blathering about his higher purpose and true connection to our _Father_ Lucifer. Dumb bastard."

Mary sighed, "Do I even want to know?"

"You're going to find out anyway," Dean tilted his head towards the TV. "Enjoy this before the pain actually hits."

"Wait you consider Lucifer your father?" Sam questioned.

Crowley laughed once, "Piss poor excuse for one but yeah, there was a time when all the denizens of Hell looked to Lucifer as their Father. After all he did create the demons. For all his belly aching about the Big Man, I'd say he was a worse deadbeat dad than his own."

"Now this is a learning experience," Dean looked between him and Cas.

"Start the show," Rowena requested. "And please fast forward through the angst."

"Done, done," Mary hit the right buttons on the remote and the show opened on man answering his phone. There are some strange visions of him getting a gun before he actually walks into a gun shop to get a rifle. Then man loads it, shoot the shop owner, then himself before the show reveals it was actually a vision of Sam's.

 _Well that was layered._ Sam merely pursed his lips. He was glad that these days were long gone especially when TV!Dean calls him a 'freak' in the moment. _You are not a freak._ "Says the voice in my head." _Touché_

TV!Dean and TV!Sam nonetheless go to the Roadhouse to meet with Ash to look up the area and signs of their demon. They convince Ash to help while Jo and TV!Dean continue their little 'thing' even TV!Dean admits to being terrified of Ellen.

"Everyone was scared of Ellen," Sam chuckled over his brother's surprisingly on-key singing. They'd set off looking for an Andrew (Andy) Gallagher posing as estate lawyers this time. TV!Sam worries that he might predisposed for homicide as the other children affected by the demon had. They do eventually catch up with Andy living…a lifestyle…and spot the shooter from the previous vision. TV!Sam tails the shooter and TV!Dean goes after Andy.

Andy leads TV!Dean to a side and simply just asks for Baby…which TV!Dean agrees to. _He did not…_ "Now I'm a little scared," Rowena admitted.

"As am I," Cas concurred.

"That is one powerful little whelp," Crowley observed.

"Not sure how I feel about Heaven and Hell being fully aware of my attachment to my car," Dean shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh you have every right to be sweetheart," Mary ruffled his hair. "You wouldn't be here without her." There were immediately stifled laughs at slow horror-filled looks on the Winchesters' faces. Rowena gave Mary a high-five while matriarch smugly sipped her beer.

 _Brings a whole new definition to 'Baby'_ "You're so sick," Sam groaned. The whole scene stood out in great contrast to the show where TV!Sam tries to thwart the shooting only to cause the shooter to step in front of a bus instead. The brothers realise it's mind control and TV!Sam beats himself up for not saving him.

"At least you saved the owner," Mary supplied.

Elsewhere, Andy is upset that man, apparently named Dr. Jennings, died. The coffee shop owner Tracy, mentioned speaking to TV!Winchesters earlier while they investigate Andy's van. Andy catches up to them and tries to get them to leave but his powers won't work on TV!Sam. At the same time, he has another vision of a woman killing herself by lighting herself on fire at a gas station. They were unable to stop it from happening, but it did prove Andy was innocent. "These are targets," Mary surmised. "And the killer hates them."

"How can you tell?" Cas asked.

"They were watching," Mary replied. "When the doctor didn't shoot himself, he got a call immediately to go in front of a bus. Mind control isn't foresight, they had to be somewhere nearby and saw the doctor live."

"And there are quicker, subtler ways to die." Rowena added on. "The killer wants to make a spectacle of their death. They aren't doing this for the thrill of killing, this is revenge love."

"For what?" Cas frowned. The show answered the question when they discover that the female was actually Andy's birth mother and that she had given birth to twins.

 _Seriously an evil twin? Where's Rod Serling when you need him?_ But the tale only gets more complicated when it's revealed that Andy's brother is none other than the waiter that works at Tracy's shop, Webber. The brothers had been separated at birth until Webber, whose real name is Ansen, came to town. Except he never told Andy about their relationship and has now turned his attention to Tracy. "That poor girl," Mary frowned.

The brothers have a final showdown at the dam where Webber had taken Tracy to make her jump off. TV!Dean stays apart from it all, letting TV!Sam and Andy fight. They try to tape Webber's mouth but he's able to use his power without speaking. Apparently the yellow-eyed demon had got to him and told him about his brother and made him wait before revealing himself. In the meantime, Webber tracked down the ones responsible for 'separation' and made them pay for ruining their lives in his eyes. "I'll give the twat this much, he had a flair of chaos," Crowley sipped his drink.

"You see it too?" Rowena smirked.

"I don't understand," Dean knit his eyebrows together.

Rowena merely replied, "Keep watching,"

Webber threatened to make Tracy, who now stood at the edge of the dam, walk off so Andy backed off, pleading for her safety. Meanwhile, TV!Dean got into position with a sniper rifle except somehow Webber sensed him and almost made TV!Dean kill himself if Andy didn't shoot him in the back first. Andy was able to fend off the police but now Tracy was terrified to even look at him. The TV!Winchesters had to go but TV!Sam gave Andy his number, promising to help if he ever needed it. _Kind of shitty just leaving Andy like that._ "I wish we could have done more for him but we had nothing to offer."

"If only we had this place in those place, life would have been so much different," Dean mused.

Onscreen, the brothers argue over having the potential to kill and TV!Sam thinks the demon is trying to break them. "Very good Samuel," Rowena nodded. "You catch on quick."

"So it's grooming them," Mary comprehended. "How far one needs to push before a person snaps."

"Precisely," Crowley nodded. In the show, TV!Winchesters go back to the Roadhouse and Ellen confronts them about their case. TV!Dean wants to hide it but TV!Sam comes clean and explain the demon and the psychic children that all lost their mothers in fires on their sixth-month birthday except Webber didn't have that happen, so the pattern seemingly didn't matter at all.

"Oh darling you were so close," Rowena pouted at the show's close. "There's a reason nothing happened to the brother."

"Why?" Sam asked.

"He was a tool," Crowley filled in. "Azazel never wanted him like he did you and Andy. This whole charade was simply for Andy's benefit. If I know his style, I'd wager Webber didn't have a good home life so when this mysterious man with yellow eyes shows up, telling him that he's special, destined for greatness and that he has a brother just like. The boy ate it up. But no he couldn't go to his brother, he had to wait, building up his power by feeding his thirst for revenge. Making sure his mother burned like she should have all those years ago. And that evil doctor who separated them and sent them off to terrible homes."

"Conveniently depriving Andy of anyone to turn too," Rowena continued. "And then Webber finally gets his long lost brother. Except! He pushes too far and Andy shoots him. Everyone of any significance to Andy is dead, except the girl he loves who never wants to see him again for extra bit of torture. All nice and neat and tied up in a bow."

"Okay everyone except mom knows the demon's MO," Dean jumped in. "Why would he go through the trouble of creating Webber, grooming him into a willing killer – better than Andy – only to throw him away."

"I believe I know the answer to that," Cas interjected. "As it is in Heaven, so it shall be on Earth. What are the odds that Andy was the younger brother?"

Sam ran a hand through his hair, "That is messed up." _Totally._

"I need a drink," Dean scooped up a fresh beer. "Let's keep this going."


	10. Episode 6 - No Exit

Catching Up  
Chapter 9 – No Exit

 **A/N: I'M BACK! I never actually left and it's been so wonderful to see all the support you have for this series. I hope to return to my regular upload schedule soon, however there should be another smaller update to my multi-chap stories in the next couple of weeks. Until next time, ENJOY! R &R PLZ! **

"Okay," Sam read out. "No Exit. Sam and Dean investigate the brutal slayings of blonde women from the same apartment building." They hit start and skip the intro as per usual. The show starts with a short scene of a young woman arguing with her landlord before finding some black goo and mysterious eye in her wall.

"Oh yeah, I remember this one. Good case," Dean recalled. "Shitty, shitty ending."

"Hush," Rowena censured. "Spoilers!"

"What spoilers," Sam scoffed. "That's our mantra." _I love it when you get all self-aware._

Meanwhile Jo and Ellen are having a massive argument at the Roadhouse over Jo wanting to go on a hunt. The blonde shows TV!Sam and TV!Dean her case about girls who go missing over ten year intervals. Jo had put the case together herself but Ellen makes the boys take it, insisting she won't lose her daughter. "I feel for both of them," Mary frowned. "As the mother and the daughter."

"You hated hunting," Sam thought.

"I hated not being able to have both." Mary replied. "I didn't mind the hunting so much but I resented not being able to live my own life too. I ultimately abandoned the life to be with John. But, to be honest with you, it wasn't perfect and I did hunt once or twice while I was married. After all, I was raised on gun oil and salt. It was where everything felt natural."

"I don't think it's possible have both," Dean said. "S'too much."

"Maybe, or we could just be special." In the show, the boys try to check out the apartment only to find Jo was there as well and promptly posed TV!Dean as her boyfriend. They bicker about her presence and needing to go home. Especially considering her mother whom TV!Dean doesn't want to lie to. But she stays anyway, TV!Dean lies anyway, and all three of them work the case together.

Unsure of the origins of the ghost, they agreed to search the different floors with TV!Dean shadowing Jo. The young girl is upset thinking he considers her incapable on account of being a girl but TV!Dean says it's because she's an amateur who doesn't grasp the reality of the job. TV!Dean even opens up about not having any other choice and maybe wanting one. "You should have gone with me," Sam whispered to his brother. "That night."

"Couldn't. I was too scared," Dean admitted.

 _Huh?_ Sam didn't respond, rather let a conversation from a lifetime ago flood his mind.

 **Dean you can come with me. It's been the two of us against the world since we were kids. You and me, we can take this on too.**

 **Sammy we can't just leave dad. You know why we do this.**

 **That demon took mom's life, it doesn't have to take ours,** _ **he**_ **doesn't have to take ours. I know it'll be weird but think about it. You can do whatever you want. Maybe open a garage and work on cars, you'd love that. Heck all we have to do is confirm your GED and you could come to school with me.**

 **What about dad?**

 **You heard him in there. He'd honestly rather have us spend our every waking moment hunting down this demon but has no idea what we'd do after. He doesn't care about the after, about where we go from there.**

 **Of course he cares Sam! He just doesn't know how long it will take –**

 **Exactly. We've been at it our whole lives and it could still take another 20 years to find this thing, at which point, what options will we have? Right now Dean, there is world where you don't have to look over your shoulder for a werewolf or wonder if a disappearance is a linked to vengeful spirit.**

 **The only reason those people don't look, don't have to look is because we do. I can't forget what's out there. And I can't walk out on dad like this.**

 **You can but you won't. Look this is my residence address and number. I searched up the general design of the place. Nothing you haven't seen before. You know the drill; left side window will be half locked, door key buried under the bedroom window. If you ever need me, come find me Dean.**

 _Wow I'm sorry kiddo._ "I hated leaving him."

"Sam?"

Sam shook his head. "Sorry, what were you saying mom?"

"Spaced out on us there Samantha," Dean chuckled. "You're only on your second beer lightweight. You missed my awesome detective work. I found a chunk of hair and the spirit snatched another girl."

"Doesn't that make you a shitty detective?"

"I'm doing my best," Dean pouted. In the show, Jo and TV!Dean have a heart-to-heart about their fathers and hunting but the moment is TV!Sam who informs them that another woman had been taken. The team doubles down their efforts to find the source of the haunting and realize that the complex sits on top of an old execution site for an asylum. Looking through a list of the dead, they stumble on Herman Webster Mudgett, the real name of –

"H.H. Holmes," Mary caught on. "The first serial killer of America. The forefather of homicidal sadism."

"Sounds like Cain's line," Crowley spoke up for the first time. "Nasty streak that one."

"Cain? As in Cain and Abel?" Mary gaped.

"The first serial killer of Earth," Rowena confirmed. "A child of Adam and Eve, they say his holy blood became tainted when he slew his brother."

"So are all criminals descended from Cain?"

"Of course not! You can't help who your family is," Crowley haughtily admonished her. "Especially on a biblical scale. But they do say, his lot are rather unlucky."

"Considering what Cain himself did, I'd say so," Cas concurred. Onscreen, the team tries to investigate inside the walls of the complex and Jo goes by herself when the passage gets too narrow. TV!Dean tries to get to her but the spirit gets her first, leaving TV!Dean to deal with wrath of her mother who knows she's been lied to.

"I'm gaining the impression she doesn't trust you boys," Crowley surmised.

"Didn't give her a whole lot of reasons and dad gave her evidence to the contrary." Mary shot Dean a look and her son just shrugged wearily. Meanwhile, the TV!Winchesters deduce that there may be something in the sewers which is where Jo wakes up, trapped in a coffin-like chamber. The another victim is there as well but they are by and large helpless against the spirit. Meanwhile TV!Sam and TV!Dean go down into the sewer as Jo tries to escape and confronts the spirit herself. It tried to touch her and she stabbed its hand with an iron knife. "Good girl," Mary praised.

The ghost comes back to go after Jo but the TV!Winchesters arrive in time to drive it off and free the girls, unfortunately for Jo, they need her to stay and be bait. They have Jo sit in the middle of the room and wait for Holmes to return. The ghost approaches her from behind, looking almost solid. "Boys quick question," Crowley examined the creature. "How accurate is this to what you lot saw?"

"Pretty damn close why?" Dean looked at him.

"It is awfully corporeal for spirit, especially an angry, vengeful one," Crowley noted. "I mean not accounting for lackluster special effects, to be that solid and in control as a spirit is something of a feat."

"Probably the strongest spectre because the attachment to the grounds," Rowena theorized. "Those catacombs, that area, everything meant a great to it. Not mention the whole place is probably imbued with the evil energy from all the murders."

"The most a murderous spirit could hope for," Mary added.

"Still was trapped by a salt line," Castiel added as the boys and Jo do just that. Then for good measure, they fill in the sewer with cement to make sure that it stayed down there. "Ingenius solution in lieu of burning the bones."

"Thank you Cas," Dean said proudly. "That idea was one of mine."

"Perhaps you ought to call a priest and bless the grounds," Mary suggested. "Remove some of the negative powers and diminish it's strength. Even now, it couldn't."

"Not a bad idea," Dean considered. "I'd probably go back into that building and cleanse it too. At least bar the spirit from entering."

Sadly for everyone, TV or not, salt and cement couldn't save then from Ellen who did end up flying down to get her daughter. TV!Dean drove them back to the Roadhouse where Ellen finally revealed why she was so edge. Jo told TV!Dean that their fathers had teamed up for a hunting trip and something went wrong, John screwed up and got Jo's dad killed. That's why John never mentioned them to the boys and stayed away for so long. With that, the screen cut to black and the credits rolled. "Damn," Mary hung her head.

"Yeah," Sam returned and that was all they really could say.


	11. Episode 7 - Usual Suspects

Catching Up  
Chapter 10 – The Usual Suspects

Eager to get away from that nasty revelation, Sam quickly queued up the next episode. "The Usual Suspects," Sam announced. "Sam and Dean investigate the murder of a lawyer and his wife. Right before they died, they claimed they'd seen a ghost."

"Oh I remember this one," Dean recalled. "Loved this case."

"Just 'cause you got to act like a smartass for most of it," Sam snorted.

"Isn't that Dean's demeanour in general?" Cas asked, pointed avoiding the glare from the elder Winchester.

The show began once more with the open montage recapping Dean's run-in with the shifter before fading into a police station with a male cop grilling someone while another female leads a raid at a motel. It wasn't hard to figure out what was happening as the guy kept talking to his suspect. "Can someone please shut him up already?" Mary groaned. "All he's missing is a fedora and a cigarette and he could be a neo-noir cut out."

"Sorry mom he sticks around for a bit," Sam told her.

"This is why I could never be in your line of work boys," Crowley made a sour face. "Self-righteous humans who think they know all make me want to gut something."

"Are they a double act?" Rowena motioned to screen where the show had begun. TV!Sam was being interrogated by the female cop while TV!Dean was supposedly held on suspicion of murder.

"She's not so bad, if a little by the book," Dean dismissed. Just then TV!Sam made a remark about seeing the second-largest ball of twine in the continental U.S. and he smirked, "You were saying something about being a smartass there junior?"

"Shut up, she had it coming," Sam shook his head. The female cop continued to work on TV!Sam, insisting that they would get to the bottom of how Dean had 'faked' his death. She tried to convince TV!Sam that he didn't have to go down with his brother.

"Hang on pause," Mary called, Sam stopped the show. "They dug up the corpse of a shifter? What came of that?"

Dean thought about it, "You know, I have no idea."

"It was a patch job," Cas said simply. He noticed the dumbfounded looks and explained, "Medical examiner opens the body, see horrors untold, begins to pray. We'd been following the Winchesters closely for some time, anything remotely related to them was given top priority. It was in the best interest of desired outcomes to make things a bit smoother so one of the deputies was dispatched to dispose of the body and erase the examiner's memory."

"You mean to tell me that angels helped me get away with murder," Dean said slowly.

"It does sound quite oxymoronic phrased that way," Cas supposed. "But if you consider their intentions…"

"Yeah sounds about right." With that, Dean restarted the show with the woman insisting that TV!Sam explain to her what happened. TV!Sam then spins a story about Karen's late husband Tony being an old friend of John's and coming to town when they'd heard of his passing. In actuality, TV!Sam and TV!Dean noticed Tony's death in the paper and thought it could be a potential case.

 _Sorry to break it to you sweetness, you are Scully._ "Am not!" Sam whined under his breath. _Those locks don't lie._ Meanwhile, TV!Sam tells the cop that he and his brother went to comfort the wife when they had really posed as insurance agents to investigate his death. Karen tells them that her husband had a nightmare of a woman standing over his bed shortly before his passing.

The detective continues to press TV!Sam insisting that he and his brother had broken into Tony's office. TV!Sam says that Karen has asked for them to pick up some personal stuff for her, he acknowledged that it wrong to break in a crime scene but she had given them the key. "Damn little brother even I believe you," Dean chuckled as their other selves picked the lock on the office to get in.

"Quite deceptive Samuel," Rowena crooned. "Impressive."

 _Indeed a silver tongue._ "It wasn't that impressive, you should see me try and talk Dean out of pie." Just then, the TV!Winchesters discover the name Dana Schulps written over and over again but their search of the offices affords no other clues. TV!Sam tried another lead on the computer and with nothing better to do that make noises, TV!Dean decides to re-question Karen which TV!Sam tell the cop was just TV!Dean going to check on her.

At the police station, the female detective doubles down on why the brothers split up. She thinks it's because TV!Sam knew that his brother was going to murder Karen. She points that Karen had made a frantic 9-1-1 call about somebody being in the house. The scene cuts to Karen seeing the ghost and being stalked by it through the house. The woman goes upstairs and calls the police but the phone cuts out and the lights begin to flicker. The printer activates and begins printing 'danaschlups' over and over again, just as it had done at Tony's office. Karen goes to get a flashlight only to the find the ghost behind her. She screams and the scene abruptly ends.

"That one works fast," Mary shivered. "I think dealing with spirits is the worst part of the job. Nothing corporeal to hit or fight against."

"Corporeal? You are mother and son," Dean made a face.

"And you have the worst luck in human history," Sam pointed out as TV!Dean decides to break into Karen's house when she doesn't answer the door.

"Of all the times to break in," Rowena half-laughs. TV!Dean came upon Karen's body but when he tried to look, the police came in and arrested him on spot.

"Okay come on," Mary scoffed. "After a murder like that, there's barely any blood on him. There's no motive, no real evidence."

Onscreen, the two detectives are seen discussing the boys. The female cop, Diana, is not entirely convinced that they're guilty and it is revealed the male cop was friends with Tony, Not only that but the two detectives were involved. "Gotta love an office romance," Dean smirked.

The show moves on to the brothers, in separate holding rooms trying to figure out the meaning behind 'danaschlups'. At the same time, TV!Dean's lawyer comes in to discuss his case but find the elder Winchester completely uninterested in the potential death penalty, rather he needs to get a message to TV!Sam. Also Diana is now faced with the mysterious string of 'danaschlups' appearing across her screen. "That's not good," Mary commented mildly.

"Neither is what you're about to see," Sam sighed as TV!Dean appeared to be gearing up for a confession.

"They gave Dean an audience," Cas pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Well it could be worse, he is being honest," Mary still cringed.

"Only good thing is that it tipped off your lady friend," Crowley nodded to Diana.

"And gave Sammy the chance to run off," Dean beamed with pride at his brother's clean getaway.

Meanwhile, Diana is accosted by the ghost in the bathroom. _And then I saw her face, now I'm believer!_ Sam muffled his cackles into his arms. The room still looked at him like he was insane, it was quite thing for Heaven, Hell, and Earth to wonder what was wrong with you. "Sorry," he rasped. "Beer went down the wrong way."

In the show, Diana goes to TV!Dean who realised she'd been marked by the spirit. He tells her where to find TV!Sam who gives her some photos of missing women to identify their ghost. The ghost's real name was Claire Becker who disappeared almost a year prior when Diana and Pete, the male cop, worked narcotics but she doesn't remember ever busting her. They decide to go to the last place she was seen, on Ashland St. (the hint from the danaschlups). Inside, Diana sees Claire again and TV!Sam breaks open a wall and they find her body inside. TV!Sam had remarked how strange it is for a vengeful spirit to lead them to their corpse. That was until they found a very unique necklace on the victim, the same one Diana had around her neck – given to her by Pete. "Son of a bitch," Mary whispered.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Dean sipped his beer.

Together, Diana and TV!Sam piece together that Pete had probably involved Claire in some heroin smuggling while he worked narcotics, a business relationship that likely led to her death. Claire wasn't a vengeful spirit, she was death omen warning people against the impeding fates. At the same time, it's shown that TV!Dean was being driven down an isolated road by Pete. "You had better luck in Purgatory," Cas told his friend.

"He's not wrong," Sam said dubiously.

Diana tries to call in and find Pete but he had taken off and wasn't responding to dispatch. TV!Sam tells her to turn on the van's tracker and they go after them. While this was happening, Pete stops in the middle of the woods, preparing to murder TV!Dean and make it look like he was escaping. He was just about to shoot him when Diana and TV!Sam arrived.

In a twist, it was revealed the spirit had never killed anyone, Pete had. He was trying to cover up his heroin trafficking by killing Claire, Tony, and Karen for good measure. He begged Diana to pin it all on TV!Dean and forget that it ever happened. "As if you could ignore your partner murdering three innocent people," Mary disparaged.

"Yes let's just run off into sunset with a body count trailing behind us," Rowena rolled her eyes.

"That could describe at least three of your former relationships mother," Crowley scoffed.

"Hardly," Rowena objected but then thought it over. "Well maybe two."

In the show, Diana doesn't fall for it and shoots Pete in the leg. He puts up a struggle and is about to kill Diana when Claire's spirit appears giving Diana the chance to shoot him in the chest, killing him. With Claire at peace and having gotten a confession from Pete before his death, Diana let the boys go promising to get the charges dismissed. "I like her a lot." Mary smiled.

"She can't work homicide anymore but she's on our side now," Sam told her. "Helps out hunters if they ever run into trouble with the law."

"Do those other charges still exist?" Rowena asked. "The ones in St. Louis?"

"Yes but officially speaking the murderer died," Sam explained. "After that it's a game of semantics no one wants to dig too far into."

"Nice," Mary stood. "I think that's about a good an ending as we're going to get for a while. How about something to eat?"

"You're learning," Dean joked. "Yeah you're right, let's eat."


	12. Chew On That

Catching Up  
Chapter 10 – Chew On That

Dinnertime was surprisingly peaceful in the Winchester bunker. Mary once again called in Cas to help her cook while Sam and Dean set the table. Crowley produced some vintage bottles of red wine and Rowena made polite conversation with Mary and Cas from her chair at the table. The brothers had never heard or seen anything that could classified as _supernaturally domestic_ but here they were _._ "It's surreal," Dean muttered to his brother. "The king of hell, an all-powerful witch, an angel, a recently resurrected woman and two hunters sit down for dinner, frig it's not even a good opener for a joke."

"Just wait for the punchline," Sam commented, thinking about the voice. "I don't know Dean, I kind of like it. No shotguns, no salt, just us, our mom, and our friends. I thought you'd be all over this."

"I am – I want to be," Dean grimaced. "Guess I'm still on edge. What with Lucifer and our undercover friend in the Men of Letters. Plus dredging all this stuff up in the show. Bobby, Jo, Ellen…I don't want to think about when we get to Lisa."

Sam was startled. That was the first time he'd heard Dean say her name in years. His part in the destruction of that relationship would forever be one his greatest regrets. He couldn't help but hope that confronting all of this now, years later, might convince Dean that it was time to move on and make peace with his demons, the proverbial ones. "There's still some good times in there."

"Not enough," Dean cast a wary glance at Castiel. "And we still have to talk to Cas about Meg. How the hell are we going to break the news to him, I don't know."

"We've got time," Sam sighed.

 _Don't keep in him the dark for too long. He deserves to know._

Sam turned away with the pretense of going into the pantry. "I know that. I don't want him to lose the fantasy just yet. That's all I had for a while too."

 _I know, I saw._

Sam flushed at that, "How much do you see?"

 _Nervous Winchester?_

"I haven't really thought about it in a long time. I'm still not sure what my answer is."

 _Fair enough, you don't have to be afraid of me Sam._

"I'm not. I have a lot of other things to be afraid of."

 _I'm fine. I promise. Go have dinner with your family._ Sam sighed and returned to the table where the meal was laid out and everyone was pulling up a chair.

"You cool?" Dean raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah just checking in with our friend abroad," Sam shrugged.

"Who?" Castiel asked.

Dean made an offhand face while sitting down, "Doesn't matter man, just a contact who's been keeping an eye on the Men of Letters for us." Clearly years of practiced perjury had served Dean well even with a mind-reading angel.

"Any news on them?" Mary slid into her seat.

 _Nothing. Lady Toni has been excommunicated as it were. Not dead, but not in great shape. They have sent to guys to track you but so far you've flown under the radar._

"Not much. Lady Toni is out for now and they've got people trying to spy on us but no luck since we really haven't left the Bunker much."

"All the more reason to keep watching the show," his older brother said unenthusiastically.

"Yeah sure," Sam mirrored his tone.

"They'll be back. We can't stay hidden forever." Mary added.

"Maybe not but if you have an inside man that will go a long way in keeping you and your boys out of trouble," Crowley insisted. "Perhaps you can convince your friend to create a diversion within-"

"No." Sam said coldly. "Absolutely not. They're doing enough."

"Sweetheart-" Mary began.

"No mom," Sam softened a little when speaking to his mother. "I wouldn't dare – I couldn't ask someone to die for me – us – just like that."

An awkward silence reigned following Sam's pronouncement. The family and friends shifted uncomfortably for several tense moment until Rowena laid her napkin on her lap. "Well then, shall we say Grace?"

That cracked the ice and the group chuckled. Dean began piling his plate, "With everything we've done for this world, God should be thanking us. This is backpay."

"Well his sister did," Mary pointed out.

Cas gingerly chewed on a roasted potato, "No offence intended Mary but I'm not sure that was entirely out of gratitude."

"Really?"

"Oh yes, Mrs. Winchester. A long and fanciful tale that. But tell me Dean how does it feel knowing you had a chance with God's sister?" Crowley queried

"About as good as you did thinking you had a chance with a reaper." Dean shot back and Crowley feigned being wounded.

 _Christ help me, I can't believe your lives._ "Let's not talk about it."

"Sure Sammy, so how's your sex life?" Dean asked baldly.

Sam choked and the voice cracked up. "Non-existent Dean, much like yours. Haven't heard any power ballads coming from your room in ages." _Power ballads? Is that what they're calling them now?_

"You just wait, you're not exactly safe yourself Sammy boy. All shall be revealed." Dean promised.

"Satan I hope so," Rowena winked at him.

 _I'm with the witch._

"As long as there isn't a cheesy musical backing I'll be fine." He held up his glass to his mouth to his muttering, "And you behave."

 _Never._

"I suppose I've lived through watching one son get it on onscreen," Mary mused. "I'll survive seeing the other."

"And then there's Cas too," Dean added.

Mary fell back, "Aw dammit Cas too! Apparently I'll have to stomach all my boys doing the deed…minus John since he's gone."

Sam and Dean shared wide eyes, they'd forgotten about Adam! _You do that an awful lot don'cha?_ Great chalk that up to another uncomfortable conversation they'll have to have. With that thought the boys hunkered into their meal, ready and willing to chew on something other than their own tongues.

 **A/N: Hey guys, I keep apologizing for the disappearing act. I promise to at least return to once monthly updates if nothing else. Feel free to come at me in the PM and make sure I stay with it. ENJOY! R &R PLZ! **


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